Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Modern Pulp

A significant number of well-regarded writers (and many more long-forgotten writers) began their careers during the pulp era, pounding out short stories for a penny a word, or less. Their work filled dozens of pulp-era magazines with all manner of genre fiction. While the pulp era is long past, short story writers can still generate a respectable income writing short fiction.

It isn't easy, though. It requires the ability to produce a lot of words in a short amount of time and in multiple genres. Writers unwilling to do this--especially those unwilling to venture outside the realm of a single genre--will have difficulty placing more than a handful of stories in any given year. But those of us who don't mind bouncing from one genre to another like a pinball can find receptive markets every time we turn around.

I can, without much effort, name markets that publish a combined total of more than 1,000 short stories each year. I can probably--though it would certainly take a bit more effort--name markets that publish a combined total of more than 2,000 short stories each year.

I'm selling a short story each week, so I'm only filling 50 or so of those 2,000+ slots. Surely there are other writers doing the same. If you're out there, raise your hand. We just may be the modern pulp writers.

2 comments:

Hi,Just wondering if the markets you're talking about are paying markets and, since this is your bread and butter, do you consider non-paying markets for your stories. In the past 18 months, I've managed to place about 12 stories, but only two of them got me checks.

Steven, I place the vast majority of my short stories with paying markets. 57 of my last 60 published short stories brought in checks. The three that didn't: the first was published in a small press anthology edited by two friends of mine, the second was a reprint, and the third took 10 years to find a home.

I do consider non-paying markets for my work, but only under special circumstances or after exhausting all known paying markets that might be interested.

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About Me

Author of 11 books and more than 1,500 shorter pieces (including more than 1,200 short stories), Michael Bracken also edits crime fiction anthologies. He is recipient of the 2016 Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer lifetime achievement award for short mystery fiction. His “Dreams Unborn” was named one of the best mystery short stories of the year by the editors of The Best American Mystery Stories 2005, “All My Yesterdays” and "Getting Out of the Box" received Derringer Awards, “Cuts Like a Knife” was short-listed for the Derringer Award, “Of Memories Dying” appeared on the preliminary ballot for the Nebula Award, and he has received many awards for advertising copywriting. Stories from his anthologies have been short-listed for the Anthony, Derringer, Edgar, and Shamus awards. Former Vice President of the Private Eye Writers of America and former VP of the Mystery Writers of America’s Southwest Chapter, Bracken is also an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and for many years was an active member of the Horror Writers Association. Additional information is available at www.CrimeFictionWriter.com.